Hood
by MollyHooper828
Summary: Robin, Marian and Much have been best friends for years; they know all about each other whether it be a favorite color or the best way to calm them down when they get upset, they have always been there for each other. But things change as they get older and growing up is never easy especially for those living in Nottingham.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The animals in Sherwood Forest were NOT having a very good day. At first everything seemed normal, wonderful even. The sun was shining brightly and the birds were chirping. The rain from the last few days had given all of the rabbits and foxes plenty to drink and although the ground was slightly muddy, the sun shone out a promise to make it dry again. Then this beautiful illusion was shattered. Out from the undergrowth came a boy no older than fifteen with sandy blonde hair and a mischievous grin on his face. Under normal circumstances the animals would have hidden or run away until he left but then the most awful thing happened. It turned out that this boy was not alone in whatever task he had set out to do. The rabbits all assumed they were out to hunt rabbits and the foxes all assumed they were hunting foxes and so on with each animal. Whatever the reason, this second boy was not nearly as quiet, quite the opposite in fact. He was frightening the animals so much as he crashed through the bushes grumbling rather loudly about whatever scratch he had acquired in his attempt to come through the bush like his master that the animals scampered away so quickly you would have thought that there was a dozen hunters instead of two mere children.

"Quiet, Much!" The first boy whispered not unkindly to the second.

"Unbelievable! I could have died in those brambles and all you're worried about is whether or not I scare away the hunt! Surely Master, you could have thought of an easier way to find all of those rabbits?" The second boy, which some of the braver animals who had stayed behind figured his name was Much, licked his lips at the thought of dinner.

"Of course I could, but where would be the fun in that?"

"Unbelievable!" The first boy snickered at Much's insistence at an easier route to food.

"Well, come on then! Our meal is escaping!" Once the rabbits figured out that they really WERE on the menu for that evening, they scampered away faster than the first group of frightened animals.

Not too long after all of the forest animals had found their way back to the clearing, they were resting in before they were so rudely interrupted, another shadow fell upon the forest floor. Resigning themselves to a scamper filled day, all of the creatures ran and hid behind various trees and boulders. This time it was a young female who stepped lightly if not angrily through the undergrowth. She stopped to examine a slight tear in her peach colored gown before continuing her journey through the trees. Little did any of the rabbits know (They ARE only rabbits after all), that this was the beautiful Lady Marian of Knighton who was just thirteen years old at the time. She frowned at her dress that was restricting her from walking closer to a stream she wanted to cross, but she continued to walk closer until she was perched at the very edge of the 12 foot cliff that lead down to a bubbling brook. Most of the animals poked their heads out from wherever it was they were hiding to see what she would do to get across. Marian sighed heavily and looked around her to make sure no one was looking (Not that there was anyone around) and she hiked up her dress in a way that was not at all considered proper and started to make her way across a rickety looking tree that the animals knew had fallen during the storms the night before.

Marian walked very slowly across the log hoping that this was the easiest way across and that she wouldn't fall. She realized that it was too late to turn back and anyways if her friend Robin could complete tasks like this, then she could too. Marian looked down at her feet mentally cursing herself for wearing slippers. Almost simultaneous, her right foot slipped off of the log. She gasped and fell forwards, clutching the fallen tree for dear life.

"I'm alright. It's going to be fine." She assured herself while standing back up. At this point she was VERY nervous about falling so she actually walked faster across the tree. When Marian reached the end in once piece she had a problem that she hadn't noticed before. When the tree had fallen, it had taken a lot of the ground with it making an effective barrier for anyone who wanted to walk across. Marian frowned. She had to try and climb over it. Resigning herself to a dirty dress, Marian lifted one leg over the clumps of roots and dirt and hoisted the rest of her body up with it. Unfortunately, these roots weren't exactly the strongest of their kind and even though Marian didn't weigh much, the tree stump couldn't hold her up. Making cracking noises, the roots all snapped sending Marian and clumps of mud tumbling down into the muddy ditch that the tree had left when it fell.

"Oh!" Luckily, Marian wasn't high enough up that she could break anything but she did land rather painfully on her rear. At this point, Marian's dress was no longer peach but tan in some places and in others completely brown.

"Oh, lovely!" Marian saw the results of her fall including a small but deep scrape in her left forearm. Marian's sarcasm carried all the way to the other side of the patch of trees where Robin of Locksley and his manservant Much were hunting rabbits.

"Shh!" Robin hushed Much while standing upright straining his ears to hear that familiar voice again.

"Master?"

"Shh!" a slow smile spread across Robin's fifteen year old face. "If I'm not mistaken then we're not alone in this part of Sherwood. Come on!" Robin jumped between trees and bushes running stealthily toward where he heard Marian's voice.

"Master! Oh, wait for me!"

"Marian had climbed out of the mud hold and stared at her now ruined dress. She didn't' care about it too much but she was worried about her father's reaction. Deciding it best to address the problem when it arose, she ignored it and continued onwards. If she was right, and when it came to things that she really cared about, she normally was, a very familiar clearing was just beyond the trees in front of her. Marian started to get very excited as she walked quicker towards the trees. Giving up entirely she started to run. Robin was the same; he knew he had heard Marian and he couldn't wait just to see her face again. He started to run too. Both of the children ran around a marker they recognized, a giant oak tree, but they weren't expecting to run right into each other.

Robin and Marian collided and fell into a tangled heap on the floor of the forest, both of them shocked that the other was so close by.

"Marian!"

"Robin!" They shouted each other's names simultaneously.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here, what are you doing here? And what happened to your dress?" Robin stood up and offered his hand to Marian who ignored him and got up on her own. She dismissed the last part of Robin's question. She pulled her sleeve over the cut she had gotten, not wanting Robin to see it.

"Where's Much?" Robin frowned and looked around him. Right on cue, Much fell out from behind a bush and landed flat on his face. He sat up and spat grass out of his mouth.

"Here I am! Oh, hello Marian! What happened to your gown?"

"I fell." She explained. Even though Much was one of Robin's servants, she thought of him as a friend. Marian hurried over and helped Much out of the bush while Robin stood with his hands on his hips.

"How did you fall?" He asked hiding his worry behind an amused smirk. Marian didn't realize how much Robin really cared for her, but instead acknowledged the smirk hiding Robin's true feelings.

"The log I was climbing over snapped, not that it is any of your business." Marian replied haughtily.

"A log? Surely Marian, you can't be serious!" Much stared at Marian and then at Robin and back again. He was normally caught in the cross fire between Robin and Marian and although he could see that both of them loved each other dearly, they were in this sense, blind.

"Yes, a log." Marian explained again to Much. She didn't, however, explain why she was on the log in the first place for Much was a born worrier but she decided to let the issue rest for now.

Much shook his head. "You're not like other girls Marian." He said in reserved awe.

"No, she's not." Robin said smiling and throwing Marian a wink. She rolled her eyes but when she thought he wasn't looking, smiled softly to herself.

"So, where are you off to?" Robin, Much and Marian started through the trees in the direction Marian was headed before. Marian realized that Robin must have run right by their old hideaway without even realizing it. When Robin and Much were ten and Marian was eight, they had all decided that they needed a place to plan their adventures. Whether that adventure was stealing cream and strawberries from the manors kitchen before dinner or spying on the serfs in the different villages, they needed some place to meet and come up with new plans. Much had stumbled upon a little clearing when he went looking for Robin and ever since then that had been their spot. But as the years went by, they all slowly forgot about the secret hideaway and it was once again buried behind the trees. Marian, however, wasn't one to forget memories that easily.

"You'll see." She responded, her excitement returning. She couldn't wait to surprise Much and Robin!

They all stumbled through trees for another few minutes before Marian gasped in excitement.

"What is it Marian?" Robin asked her.

"Look! Oh, everything is still standing!" Robin and Much gasped along with Marian when they walked into the clearing and saw their old hideout. In the middle of the clearing was a small fire pit with three rocks around it and surprisingly there were still ashes in the pit. A wooden platform was a built between two branches in a tree slightly to the right of the pit. Next to the platform was a rope swing with a wooden seat on it that hung from a branch and was swinging in the breeze.

"I must say, this is… this is…!" Much was too excited for words.

"Amazing." Robin substituted a word for his servant and friends unfinished sentence.

"Yes!" Much exclaimed. Robin walked to the fire pit while Much just stood in shock; Marian decided to go and swing on the rope.

Robin's initial surprise had worn off and he went into full tracking mode once he spotted the ash in the fire pit. They hadn't been back here in years and yet the ash was still there, that couldn't be right. Robin squatted down next to one of the weathered rocks that served as a chair for so many years and noticed that there were footprints going around the rocks and the fire pit. They were heavy, large and most important fresh.

Robin looked up when he heard his two friends laughing. Much had pushed Marian on the swing higher in to the air, her muddy dress whipping around her ankles. Much gave up once Marian was too high up for him to reach her and decided instead to wander about the field. Robin had to smile at that; he could never ask for friends better than his own.

Going back to his investigation, he noted that there were footprints all over the miniature camp even leading up to the platform up in the trees. The ladder was even covered in dirt as if people had been climbing on it recently.

"Much, Marian." Robin called out their names calmly, but he was worried. Much hadn't heard him but Marian's head shot up at her name and she dug her heels into the forest floor to stop the swing. She walked over to Robin who was looking at Much, the latter of which being perfectly content to sit in a small strawberry patch munching on the sweet fruit.

"What is it?" Marian noticed the worry etched on Robin's face and she grew tense. He wrapped his hand around Marian's wrist and started leading her towards Much's happy and smiling person.

"I don't think we're alone in this clearing, or at least, we won't be for long." Marian frowned and became very worried but she didn't resist as Robin kept his hand on her wrist.

"Much!" Robin called out his friend's name who looked up and didn't notice both Marian and Robin's expressions.

"Hello Robin! Isn't this marvelous? You me and Marian together in our old hideaway? It's just like old times!" Robin let go of Marian's wrist, both of them instantly missing the contact but never saying a word, and he pulled Much up by his shoulders.

"Much, we have to GO." He said seriously. Much gulped, his voice filled with fear.

"Go? But we just got here."

"Yes, but now we have to leave Much." Marian said hiding her worry behind a calm demeanor. Much nodded his head and the trio quickly started to make their way out of the clearing. Robin pulled out his bow and then an arrow from his quiver to be safe.

"And where are we going now?" Marian asked Robin.

A voice startled them all from directly behind them.

"We were about t' ask you lot the same question."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Robin held his bow in front of him, his hands flexing on the wood while his mind debated how to react. Unfortunately, Much decided for them all. Much turned around and threw has hands up in the air.

"We surrender!" he said his voice shaking slightly. Robin and Marian turned around but Robin didn't drop his bow. There were three burly and unwashed men all around the age of twenty standing around them all holding beaten up bows with an arrow for each of them; they were all scowling. Marian guessed that they must be outlaws.

"Drop your weapon boy unless you want an arrow through that little missy's heart." The man in the middle, obviously the leader, growled pointing an arrow at Marian. He noticed the dirt and grime coating the once peach colored gown.

"What happened to your dress girly? Get a little too rough with the boy over there?" He jerked his head towards Robin. Marian's jaw dropped open.

"How dare you?"

Instantly, an arrow flew from Robin's bow and hit the bow from the leaders' hands. Two more arrows flew seconds after the first successfully disarming the outlaws.

"Now," Robin started, another arrow nocked to his bow. "Are you going to apologize to Lady Marian, or do I have to say please?" The words were nice enough but the tone was slow and menacing. All of the outlaws looked shocked that they were beaten by a boy of only fifteen years but they saw what he could do with a bow and they didn't want to cross him again. The three men looked at each other and all at once started running towards the forest.

Robin snorted. "Filthy outlaws." He turned to Marian and Much both of which were standing still with their jaws hanging slack.

"Are you alright?" he asked them both. Much shut his mouth and nodded his head.

"Why did they just run?" Marian looked past Robin, ignoring him, to where they last saw the outlaws. "There are three of us and only one weapon. They could have easily taken the bow from you." Marian frowned, pleased that they had escaped that particular situation unharmed but she couldn't understand the way the men had acted the way that they did.

"Maybe that's because they saw me." All three of the children jumped for the second time that day and whirled around to see Edward of Knighton on his horse frowning down at all of them and positively shaking with fury.

"Young man," he said addressing Robin. "You and Much are to walk beside my horse until we get to Knighton. Marian," She flinched when he said her name more or less because of the state she was in. She had hoped that they would be able to come up with a plan to fix her dress or get her one that looked like her old one before she arrived at Knighton that way her father wouldn't know what had happened, but sadly it was not to be.

"You will ride on the horse with me." Edward said coolly. All of the children could tell that he was not pleased with any of them. Robin let his head fall down, his eyes looking at the ground. He was ashamed that Edward had seen the outlaws speaking to Marian in that way and that he had acted the way he did in front of Lord Knighton.

"Yes sir." Robin mumbled. Much was too frightened to speak while Marian clambered onto Edwards's saddle sitting in front of her furious Father.

"Father, I-"

"None of you are to speak." Edward said firmly. Under normal circumstances, Marian would have acted defiant and spoken her mind but she felt that now her Father was not to be trifled with. She clamped her mouth shut as Edwards horse began to trot its way towards Knighton, Robin and Much following closely behind.

It wasn't more than a half an hour before they all arrived safe and sound at Knighton Hall. As safe as they could be when facing Edward of Knighton's wrath. It wasn't that Edward was a violent man, quite the opposite in fact; they were all just ashamed. Both Robin and Marian's mothers had died long ago so both Lords were in charge of raising their children on their own and taking care of their own serfs.

"Sir," Robin started to speak to Edward but he held up his hand and then waved for all three of them to follow him into the manor house. The stable boy came and lead Edwards horse to the stables while Robin, Much and Marian exchanged a look behind Edward's back that more or less spelled out 'we are in a LOT of trouble'.

Knighton Hall was a very beautiful estate, even if it didn't have as much land as other estates in Nottinghamshire. The parlor was simple, holding only a few armchairs and a large fireplace along with a few candles. A small table sat slightly in front and in between the two chairs. Off of the parlor was a dining room with a table that could fit twelve people at most. Most of the time, however, it was just Marian and her Father that ate at that table.

Much and Robin both gulped silently when Edward gestured for them to enter the parlor. Edward stood in front of the fireplace, his hands folded behind his back.

"Mary," Edward spoke to a servant in the entrance hall that neither Robin nor Much had noticed before. "Please escort Marian upstairs to her chambers and help her clean herself up. If the dress cannot be saved, throw it away, I no longer care." Mary nodded her head and took Marian by the arm and started to lead her up the stairs. Marian looked down at Robin and Much sympathetically before she disappeared up the second level of the manor house.

"Much, you may go to the kitchen. I'm sure one of the other servants can find you something to eat and clean you up a bit before you go back to Locksley." Edward phrased this pleasantly enough making it seem as if Much didn't have to leave, but it was very clear to both Robin and Much that Edward wanted to speak to Robin alone.

"Of course." Much shot a look at Robin before making his way to the kitchen on the other side of the house.

"Sir-" Robin started but Edward interrupted him.

"Young man, what I just saw in that clearing was three burly outlaws looking to steal every bit of clothing from all three of your bodies and then leave you there and that was at the very LEAST." Robin gulped at Edward's quiet fury. "Marian's dress is completely ruined, and you all could have been serious injured or even killed! If I was not there, what do you think could have happened?" Edwards question was obviously rhetorical so Robin kept his mouth shut.

Edward paced in front of the fireplace pushing his slightly graying hair out of his eyes. He knew that Robin and Marian's engagement that had been arranged long ago, but Marian and Robin were not to be told of it until Marian was seventeen. Now, he wasn't so sure that an arranged marriage between the two of them was such a good idea.

"Sir Edward, let me explain," Robin interrupted Edward's thoughts. Edward stopped his pacing and turned to the fifteen year old boy.

"Marian had run into Much and I in the forest, we were hunting rabbits." Edward folded his arms across his chest waiting to hear Robin's multitude of excuses. Robin hesitated, not wanting to admit that they had found an old hideout of theirs but he didn't want to lie to Edward either.

"We… we stumbled upon the clearing and as soon as we saw the footprints we were leaving."

"And what happened next?" Edward prompted already knowing the answer.

"We were caught." Robin mumbled knowing that he didn't exactly help the situation.

"Robin," Edward sighed, controlling his temper. "No one could have guessed that the outlaws would be able to catch up with you so quickly, but this is one thing that I cannot let go without a fuss." Edward looked down at Robin. He knew Robin loved Marian and Marian loved Robin, not that either of them would admit it, but so far to Edward at least this proved to be a very dangerous love indeed.

"Yes sir." Robin responded, bowing his head in shame. How could he have missed the footprints? Sure he had noticed them but not in nearly enough time. And how had he not heard Edward or the outlaws approaching? Robin was furious at himself.

"You may fetch Much and leave now." Edward addressed Robin while walking out of the parlor. "I do not believe you and Much should visit again until I have had the time to talk to your Father." With that, Edward left the parlor and walked up the stairs to his chambers.

Robin sighed at let his head rest in his hands for a minute, thinking the day over. He imagined what could have happened if Edward hadn't shown up; the vain part of him thought that he might have been able to win a fight between himself and the three men, but then he realized how silly that was. Much and Robin could have been seriously hurt, and Marian- he didn't let himself think that far. Standing up, Robin shook out the tense muscles in his shoulders and went to fetch Much so that they could go home.

Meanwhile, Marian was just getting out of a bath that her servant Mary and drawn for her so she could wash off all of the dirt and grime that had gotten on to her person. She had heard the entire exchange between her Father and Robin and was extremely grateful Robin had decided to shut his mouth. Robin did, as Marian knew, have the tendency to be as stubborn as she was at times and even though Robin and Marian occasionally enjoyed having heated arguments about their personal opinions, Edward would not have reacted very well if Robin had said anything other than what he did. Marian wrapped herself up in a bath robe and sat down at her dresser and mirror to examine the cut she had received in her arm. It wasn't as bad as she had feared, thank the Lord, but it was an angry red color that she knew would stay for a few days before starting to fade. It wasn't bleeding badly but there was a steady flow of the tiniest amount coming out of the gash.

"M'lady? May I come in?" Mary knocked on the door having returned with a new gown for her to wear. Marian yanked the bath robe sleeve over her arm, wincing slightly as the fabric stuck to the wound.

"Come in." Mary walked in the room, laying a beautiful day gown of dark green down on her bed. Marian turned in her chair to smile at Mary.

"I looked at that peach dress of yours," Mary started. "I couldn't get all of the stains out but I can give it to Thornton's daughter Bridget at Locksley, she's dealt with so many of Robin's clothing stains since he was a child, it would be a wonder if she couldn't get your dress good as new!" Mary smiled back at the thirteen year old girl. As young as she was, Mary had watched Marian grow up to become a beautiful young lady even if she did make a few mistakes now and then.

"No, don't bother Mary; it's not worth putting all of that time and energy into it. I was growing out of it anyways." Marian got up off of her chair and walked over to her bed where the green gown was.

"Would you like help putting it on?" Mary asked her, wanting to be of some help.

"That's alright I can manage. Does Father want to see me after this?" Marian asked her hoping that she would say no. Mary seemed to be able to read Marians thoughts.

"Yes, he does." She told her giving her a sympathetic look. "Will that be all then m'lady?"

Marian sighed accepting her fate. "That will be all, thank you Mary." Mary nodded her head at the girl and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Marian waited a few seconds before rolling her sleeve back up. The inside of her robe where the sleeve had rested on the cut had soaked up a bit of blood but at this point, she was more worried about stopping the blood than a stain on her robe. Marian opened a drawer in her dresser that held cloth that she was supposed to use for embroidery; instead it was used for various scrapes and cuts that she acquired while out in the woods either by herself or with Robin. She ripped a portion of the cloth off that was just big enough to wrap around her arm a few times. She tied the ends of the cloth together after wrapping it up tightly and admired her work. Marian noticed that it wouldn't be seen through her dress for the gown was long sleeved. Hopefully, her Father wouldn't notice the small bulge of cloth underneath the fabric of her dress.

A few moments later, Marian walked down the stairs completely clean and ready to face whatever punishment her Father had for her. Expecting to see Edward in the parlor, she walked slowly thought the entry way to the parlor, but surprisingly Edward wasn't there.

"Father?" Marian called out his name and turned around when he heard a reply from the staircase.

"Forgive me Marian; I was upstairs addressing a letter." He explained. Edward went into the parlor and Marian followed silently praying that her Father wouldn't lecture her for too long. She loved her Father very much and knew that she should have been more careful, but what was the point of Edward telling her what she already knew?

Edward sat in the armchair that Robin had just occupied and Marian chose to sit opposite him in the other chair.

"Marian, you know what you did was wrong. You left the house without telling anyone where you were going, you ruined your dress and you had a run in with outlaws!" Marian didn't explain that the outlaw part wasn't her fault because she knew that would just upset him further. Edward sighed, seeming to debate something with himself.

"But, I've decided that I will lessen your original punishment. You aren't to see Robin, or Much for that matter, without consulting me." That's it? Marian couldn't believe her luck but kept her mouth shut and her expression neutral.

Edward, however, seemed to notice her relief and had to hold back a smile. He loved his daughter dearly and didn't like disciplining her, hence the light punishment.

"I really am sorry, Father." Marian explained to him. Edward nodded his head, looking stern.

"I won't let it happen again." Marian said, knowing that was what Edward wanted to hear and also because she knew she wouldn't. Edward nodded again, satisfied that Marian understood the gravity of the situation.

Both members of the family stood and smiled at each other, glad that they had settled their argument. Marian looked at her Father curiously.

"Who were you sending a letter to?" Marian watched her Father walk over to the entrance of his office and start to shift through different scrolls of parchment on his desk that he hadn't dealt with before.

"Hmm?" Edward looked distracted but he answered his daughter casually. "An old friend, Christopher of Oxford. He and his son Daniel wanted to visit; I haven't seen them in a very long time." Edward did not explain that the only reason he wanted Daniel to come with his Father besides out of common courtesy was to see if he and Marian had anything in common. As much as he loved Robin, he wasn't sure if a marriage between Marian and Robin was such a good idea anymore. Edward had decided that if Marian and Daniel seemed to get along, he would nullify Marian's arranged engagement to Robin and have Marian marry Daniel instead.


End file.
